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The Hague, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court (ICC) may soon issue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, more than seven months into the war between the two sides, based on a request by Israel's chief prosecutor. judge.
Karim Khan said he believes Prime Minister Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders: Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh, are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent court to prosecute individuals responsible for the world's most horrific atrocities - war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.
The Rome Statute under which the ICC was established was adopted in 1998 and entered into force when it was ratified by 60 countries on July 1, 2002. The UN General Assembly voted in favor of the ICC, but the court is independent.
Without a police force of its own, the ICC relies on member states to arrest suspects, which has often become a major obstacle to prosecutions.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said last month that Israel "will never accept any attempt by this court to undermine its inherent right to self-defense." He said that while the ICC would not influence Israel's actions, it would "set a dangerous precedent".
WHAT IS THE ICC?
The 124 member states of the ICC have signed the Rome Statute. Dozens of countries have not signed and do not accept the court's jurisdiction over war crimes, genocide and other crimes. They include Israel, the United States, Russia and China.
The ICC is brought into action when countries are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory. Israel argues that it has a functioning judicial system. Disputes over a country's ability or willingness to prosecute have fueled disputes in the past between the court and individual countries.
In 2020, then-US President Donald Trump imposed economic and travel sanctions on the ICC prosecutor and another senior prosecutor's office employee. They were investigating US and allied troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden, whose administration has provided crucial military and political support for the Israeli offensive in Gaza, lifted the sanctions in 2021.
The ICC is currently conducting 17 investigations, has issued a total of 42 arrest warrants and has taken 21 suspects into custody. Its judges have convicted 10 suspects and released four.
In its early years, the court was criticized for focusing too much on crimes committed in Africa, but it now conducts investigations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
WHAT IS THE ICC'S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES?
The United Nations General Assembly changed the status of the Palestinians in 2012 from an observer authority in the UN to a non-member observer state. This paved the way for the Palestinian territories to join international organizations, including the ICC.
The ICC admitted the "State of Palestine" as a member in 2015, a year after the Palestinians accepted the court's jurisdiction.
The court's chief prosecutor at the time announced in 2021 that she was opening an investigation into possible crimes in the Palestinian territory. Israel often makes accusations of bias against the UN and other international bodies. Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the decision as hypocritical and anti-Semitic.
Mr Khan, the ICC's chief prosecutor, visited Ramallah and Israel in December, meeting Palestinian officials and families of Israelis killed or taken hostage by Hamas militants in the October 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war.
Chief Prosecutor Khan called Hamas' actions "some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, crimes for which the ICC was created" and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
WHAT OTHER CASES HAS THE ICC OPENED?
Last year, the court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of being personally responsible for the abduction of children from Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for Mr. Khan and the ICC judges.
Other senior leaders indicted by the court include ousted Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir on charges that include genocide in the Darfur region. Former Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebels shortly after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest on charges related to the brutal suppression of anti-government protests in 2011./ VOA
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